This invention relates to the fishing equipment art, and more particularly to a winding apparatus for removing and installing a fishing line on a fishing reel.
Broken fishing lines often occur at the most inopportune places and times. The places and times are in small boats or on shore, especially when fish are biting. A broken line can easily frustrate and spoil what has begun as a relaxing and enjoyable day. Fishing lines also need to be replaced on fishing reels when they are rotted or so badly frayed that they are no longer reliable or when fishing for different sizes and species of fish during changing or special weather conditions. Being able to remove and install a new line quickly and efficiently is a desirable feature for fishermen.
Manually winding and unwinding a fishing line from a reel with inadequate equipment is a boring and time consuming task. Disposing an old line is difficult and problematic. The specialized line winding apparatus which exist in the art have one or more drawbacks. One drawback is that they are not portable, thus unavailable when they are most often needed. Another drawback with power driven winders is that they are expensive and cumbersome. A still further drawback is not being able to accommodate a variety of fishing reel styles.
The present invention completely overcomes all of the above drawbacks with features which individually and collectively contribute to its ability to quickly and efficiently remove and install fishing lines on a variety of fishing reels, including spinning, bait casting and fly reels. Another benefit of the invention is that it is compact and portable. Still yet another benefit is that it is moderate in cost. Still yet another benefit is that it can operate with DC and AC power supplies.
In a first aspect of the invention, the winding apparatus comprises an enclosure, a motor drive unit, and a control system for changing speed and direction of the motor drive unit. The motor drive unit includes an electric motor, pulleys and a belt. One feature of the motor drive unit is that the pulleys and belt are used for different style reels. In a second aspect, a manual drive unit is used in place of the motor drive unit.
In employing the teaching of the present invention, a plurality of alternate constructions can be adopted to achieve the desired results and capabilities. In this disclosure, only two embodiments are discussed. However, these embodiments are intended as examples and should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention.
Further features and benefits will be apparent by reference to the drawings and ensuing detailed description of a preferred embodiment which discloses the best mode contemplated in carrying out the invention. The exclusive rights which are claimed are set forth in the numbered claims following the detailed description of the preferred embodiment.